I Don't Want Cinnamon in my Coffee
by Copper's Mama
Summary: Sam/Andy fic. Takes place mid-season. Andy finds herself having to re-evaluate her choices. Please read and review!


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_A Sam/Andy fic. _

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_Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Rookie Blue. _

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_A/N: Alrighty, this one takes place mid-season, but refers to episode 3. _

_Just an idea I had ... I really don't like Luke. And it's just 'cause the guy who plays him annoys me ... I just really hate "super-nice" guys. They irk me. _

_So, this is my version of what might happen if Andy and Luke continued a relation ship - don't worry, it will end with Sam/Andy ... mine always do. _

_I hope you guys like this, I know I'll love writing it. _

_As always, please read and review, I live for feedback! _

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Things had been going downhill for Andy McNally lately. She'd been a rookie for almost two months now, and while she was a good, hardworking cop, that seemed to be the only thing in her life that made sense to her anymore.

Her father was still - slowly but surely - drinking himself to death; her apartment had burned down, causing her to move in with Luke temporarily ... that was the main part. He'd changed ... well, maybe that wasn't entirely accurate. She wasn't sure if he had changed, or if the way she saw him had changed.

He was very by-the-book, very meticulous. He wasn't a walking manual like Chris was, but it was as though everything in his life had to be in a certain order, go a certain way. It wasn't as though she was a slob, or anything. She was clean, she kept a tidy home ... sometimes _she_ wasn't tidy, but that was usually because she was so frazzled with trying to keep up with him.

She found herself seeing an entirely new side to him after she'd moved into his place. While he was pleasant and relaxed at work, it was an entirely different story at home. He kept a room where he would work on his cases after he'd come home ... some were cold cases, some were for upcoming trials. He was always working, and when he wasn't working, he was thinking about how he was going to plan the next day, or week.

It wasn't as though he didn't make time for her at all, but it seemed to Andy as though - now that she lived with him - he didn't have to make an effort anymore. She was constantly finding herself drinking alone at the Black Penny, only to come home and have him passive-aggressively tell her that if she was going to be late, she should call him beforehand. Or worse, he would ask her to plan ahead, so that she wouldn't be late.

Work was her only escape. On the days that she was partnered with Oliver or Noelle, she would go about her business in a professional manner, but still feel more relaxed than when she was at home. But on the days when she was partnered with Sam, she could laugh and joke, and just have a good time without feeling like she had to watch what she said, or act like a perfect little porcelain doll.

She didn't want to end things with Luke, but she couldn't keep going as she was, either. So, she started looking for a new place. She wanted to buy that house that had been half-price, but someone else had snatched it up. In the end, she figured that was probably best, 'cause it would have only reminded her of Luke. She found a few nice condos to look at, and contemplated telling Luke what she was doing. She decided against it, wanting to wait until she'd found a place and put down a deposit. She didn't want things to get ugly between them, and have him kick her out prematurely.

She set up interviews for three of the condos on her day off, telling Traci about it while they were walking into the division the day before. She'd hoped that her friend would be able to come see them with her, but Traci had plans with Jerry, so she was out of luck.

Andy was partnered with Sam that day, and ended up telling him about the places she was looking at. She confided in him that she wanted someone to go with her, but Traci was busy, and Dov had plans with his family. She would have asked Chris next, but he had plans with Gail. It seemed as though after he'd ended things with Denise, he and Gail decided to give it a go.

Sam offered to go with her, pleasantly surprising Andy. He told her that he could pick her up if she wanted, but she told him that she wanted to stop in and see her dad first, so he could just meet her there. Truthfully, she didn't want Luke to know that she would be spending the day with Sam. She wasn't cheating on him, and she didn't intend to ... but it still felt weird.

Finally, the day came, and Andy waited outside her father's place for Sam to show up. His car pulled in front of her only a couple minutes late, and Andy quickly slid in.

"Thanks for doing this," she told him.

Sam shrugged, checking his shoulder for traffic before pulling back onto the street. "No sweat. So, what's the first address?"

She listed it off, and he took the next left. Andy hoped that he wouldn't ask why she wasn't doing this with Luke ... he hadn't yet, and she hadn't offered. She just wanted to spend the afternoon thinking about all that the future held ... not how depressing the present was.

The first two condos were okay, but it wasn't until they stepped into the third that Andy felt at home. It had beautiful hardwood floors, it was fully furnished, had a decent kitchen, a very large bedroom, and a bathtub that was to die for. The clincher was the fireplace. Andy jumped at the chance to rent the condo, filling out an application form immediately. She used Sam and Traci as references, and gave her cell number for a contact.

The entire ride back, Andy couldn't stop thinking about the condo. "Could you believe that fireplace? And the walls were such a great color!"

Sam grinned, driving steadily. "Yeah, it was a great place."

"Oh, I just hope that I get it," Andy practically prayed, her hands folding together.

He nodded. "So, where am I dropping you off? Back at your dad's, or do you want me to just take you to Callaghan's?"

There was something strange about the way that he said Luke's name, but Andy didn't question it just then. "Um ... actually, I was going to go the library by his place first. If you want to just take me there, I can walk back when I'm done."

Sam nodded his head slowly, pursing his lips.

She glanced over at him a couple of times before she spoke. "What?"

"Nothing," he stated.

"Really?" Andy wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, if you don't want Callaghan to know that you were out with my today, that's fine," he told her. "You just don't have to make up other reasons."

Andy watched the road in front of her, trying to choose her words carefully. "It's not that I don't want him to know, it's just ... it's complicated."

Sam sighed, turning the wheel onto the next street. "So un-complicate it."

"That's what I'm trying to do," Andy muttered under her breath.

"Sorry?" he asked, not hearing her.

Andy shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm just tired, that's all." She knew he probably didn't believe her, but was grateful that he didn't press her any further.

...

A week later, Andy got the call on her cell phone that she'd gotten the condo. She'd practically screamed with joy, but Luke was in his 'office' when she got the call, so she simply thanked the man on the other end, and let him know that she would be by the next day with a security deposit, and first month's rent. She was clear to move in on the first of the month, only four days away.

Andy now tried to figure out how to tell Luke that she was moving out. She hadn't decided if she was going to end things altogether with him, but she knew that something had to change. Maybe it would get better once she moved out ...

Two days passed, and she still hadn't worked up the nerve to tell him. Traci urged her to just take the plunge and tell him, and even Sam encouraged her in his own way, though not with the same gusto as Traci. She wasn't sure how he was going to react.

On the morning of the third day, her decision was made for her. It was the smallest of things that tipped the scales, but it opened Andy's eyes - in a very big way. She had just gotten up - he'd already been up for almost a half-hour - and made her way into the kitchen for her morning coffee. It was already sitting on the kitchen table - with a coaster underneath it - still steaming and hot.

"Thanks," she spoke, thinking that she could have made her own coffee. If she was in her new place, she _would_ be making her own coffee.

"I added something different to it this time," he told her, polishing his boots from where he sat in his chair. "Let me know what you think."

Andy nodded, bringing the warm mug to her lips. She sniffed casually at it first, and a familiar scent caught her nose. She blinked, her mind remembering an incident from her first week as a rookie. That woman ... Melanie. Her husband had abused her relentlessly, and every morning after he would make her coffee - with cinnamon in it.

"Is this cinnamon?" she wondered with a forced-calm voice.

He nodded, rubbing at a particularly difficult spot on his shoes. "Yeah."

She slowly set the cup down, staring at him. "There's something I have to tell you."

He grinned up at her momentarily before returning his gaze to his shoes. "Come on, is it that bad?"

She shook her head, squaring her shoulders. "I found a place the other day ... a condo. I can move in tomorrow."

He paused his movements, looking up at her. "Tomorrow?"

Andy nodded her head.

"When were you planning on telling me?" he wanted to know.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Now, I guess. Luke, things haven't been working between us. Not for a while now. And ever since I moved in here, it's just been getting worse."

He stood up, setting his shoes on the chair behind him. "So, that's it? I mean, you're not even going to talk to me about this? You're just leaving?"

They went back and forth for a while, and Andy laid everything out for him. She told him everything that she'd been feeling, and how different things had been after her apartment burned down. She told him that she was grateful for letting her stay with him, but it was never meant to be a long-term thing. She hoped that they could still remain friends, and that was when he requested that she leave immediately.

So, she gathered everything she'd manage to salvage from the fire, and stayed with her father that night.

She got her new place set up, and splurged on new bedding and bathroom supplies. She got her closet organized, the fridge stocked, replaced the curtains, and prepared a fire in the fireplace. Breathing in the new-home smell around her, Andy smiled.

She thought back to the day before, about the cinnamon in the coffee. She didn't think that Luke would actually have abused her if she'd stayed, but it was just the kick she needed to get her life back. She needed to get a fresh start, and maybe have some fun again.

The doorbell rang, stirring her from her thoughts. The giddy part of her smiled at the thought of welcoming her first doorbell-ringer.

Sam stood outside her door, smiling, with a bottle of wine in one hand, and a six-pack in the other. "I wasn't sure which way you'd prefer to break in the new place, so I brought both," he told her.

Andy smiled, letting him in. "Either is good," she replied. "But I was planning on having a housewarming party next week, anyway."

"Oh, darn," he joked. "And I'm so much fun at parties. Well, maybe I'd better take these and wait?"

Andy fought to restrain her smile, grabbing the six-pack from him and setting it on the small table in the living room.

Sam pulled two beers out of the case, opening one and handing it to her, and then opening his own. "Welcome home," he toasted, holding his bottle up.

She clinked hers against his with a grin, taking a swallow of the liquid.

He stayed for a couple hours, and they chatted back and forth. Andy hadn't laughed that hard, or been that relaxed, in a long time. When Sam left, he hovered at the door for a moment.

She wondered if he wanted to kiss her, but at the last moment, he seemed to change his mind. He told her that he'd bring drinks or ice or whatever for her party the next week, told her he'd see her at work, and with one last unsure look, he left. Some part of her - a rather large part - wanted him to stay. But the other part, the slightly rational part, told her that if something happened, they would always wonder if it was because she was trying to get over Luke.

So, she would wait. If something happened between them, she would welcome it with both arms. He was an amazing man, and so much different than Luke. She could see herself with Sam, and suddenly found herself looking forward to it. One day, when she wasn't his rookie, and the timing was right, she was confident that they would find their way to each other.

And she would make her own coffee.

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_The end. _

_Well, what did you guys think? Like it, hate it? _

_I might do another chapter, but from Sam's perspective. What do you think? _

_Reviews are appreciated, flame if you must, but constructive criticism is much more useful. _

_Until next time ...! _


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